4. Managing People Performance Flashcards
What is the psychological contract?
The psychological contract refers to the unwritten, intangible agreement between an employee and their employer that describes the informal commitments, expectations and understandings that make up their relationship.
What are the commitments on the part of the employee in regards to the psychological contract?
To be honest, work hard, be loyal and develop their skills
What are the commitments on the part of the employer in regards to the psychological contract?
To be treat employees with respect, to provide job security, to give opportunity for development and promotion
What is power?
The ability to get something done
What are the 5 categories of power?
- Legitimate (position)
- Referent (charisma)
- Expert (skill)
- Reward
- Coercive (penalise/punish)
What is authority?
The right to do something - a type of legitimate power
What are the 3 categories of authority?
- Traditional
- Rational-legal
- Charismatic
What is delegation?
The passing of authority to another party, but NOT the passing of responsibility
What are the 4 types of delegation?
- Consultation
- Explanation (instructs and guides)
- Abdication
- Custom and practise
What are Koontz and O’Donnell’s 3 conditions for effective delegation?
- Clear definition of subordinate’s authority
- Evidence of sufficient competence
- Not constantly checking on the subordinate
What is responsibility?
The obligation an individual has to fulfil a task that they have been given
What is accountability?
The holding of an individual to account for the completion of tasks allocated to them
What is empowerment?
Transferring power to those actually involved in completing a task and giving the freedom to make decisions
What 5 interlinking initiatives often happen alongside empowerment?
- Flexibility
- Reduced hierarchy
- Fewer middle managers
- Reduced bureaucracy
- Willingness to embrace trust and less control
What is bureaucracy?
Where power is defined precisely by the rules that govern actions, with formal processes and hierarchies
What did Weber state about Bureaucracy?
It is inevitable as companies grow
What was Fayol’s theory of management?
Classical theory - 5 functions of management
Planning Organizing Commanding Co-ordinating Controlling
What was Taylor’s theory of management?
Scientific - every task had a scientific, best way to do it and a best person for the job
What was Trist and Bamforth’s contribution to management theory?
Findings that showed that Taylorism lead to individuals being ignored, poor communication and bad feelings towards management
What was Mayo’s contribution to management theory
The Hawthorne effect - work satisfaction depends to a large extent on social relationships, and performance increase happens when people are given attention
What is the contingency theory classification of management theories?
The theory says that an effectiveness of management is contingent and is dependent upon internal and external environment - no one best way
What was Burns and Stalker’s contribution to management theory?
Distinction between mechanistic (clear definition of roles and responsibilities) and Organic (individuals, problem solving and a commitment to growth) companies
Which management theorists worked on a contingent theory of management?
Burns and Stalker
What are the 3 roles Mintzberg defined for a manager?
- Interpersonal (figurehead, leader, liaison)
- Informational (monitoring, spokesperson, disseminator)
- Decisional (entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, negotiator)
What is the original, but now relatively defunct, theory of leadership?
Trait theory
Which leadership theorists worked on contingent theories of leadership?
Adair and Fiedler
What was Adair’s theory of leadership?
Action centered leadership - what is most important out of group, task and individual will depend on the situation
What was Fiedler’s theory of leadership?
Leaders can have a human relations orientation or a task orientation, and what is best depends on the situation
When is a leader with a human relations orientation useful?
Professional environment, when leader-member relations are good
When is a leader with a task orientation useful?
In crisis, with poor structure and tasks lack structure
What was Hersey and Blanchard’s contribution to leadership theory?
Management-subordinate relationships depend on task behaviour (direction), relationship behaviour (two way communication) and level of maturity
What are Hersey and Blanchard’s 4 levels of maturity?
M1 - lacks skills and wont take responsibility
M2 - lack abilities but willing to try
M3 - willing to complete but lacks confidence to be responsible
M4 - wiling and able to complete the task with full responsibility
What are Hersey and Blanchard’s 4 leadership styles?
Telling (M1)
Selling (M2)
Participating (M3)
Delegating (M4)
What was Bennis’ contribution to leadership theory?
Organisations should foster intellectual capital and ‘knowledge workers’, people do not use all their talents at work
What are Bennis’ 7 qualities of a good leader?
- Technical Competence
- Conceptual Skill
- Track record
- People skills
- Taste
- Judgement
- Character
Overall –> softer skills
What does Bennis’ state are the 4 things followers need from a leader?
- Meaning/direction
- Trust in and from
- A sense of optimism
- Results
What are the two elements on Blake and Moulton’s managerial grid?
Concern for the task and concern for people
What are the 5 points on Blake and Moulton’s managerial grid?
- Impoverished (no concern)
- Country club (concern for staff, not task)
- Task manager (concern for task only)
- Middle of the road (adequate performance)
- Team (best results)
What are the 4 criticisms of Blake and Moulton’s managerial grid?
- High concern for staff not always good
- Difficult to accurately place on the grid
- other things in the environment influence managers
- May be useful to assign leaders with commentary strengths
What is the Transactional leadership view? (Burns)
That managers provide staff with a package/reward, and staff provide their employer with their service
What is the Transformational leadership view? (Boyd)
Managers should inspire and motivate subordinates, especially in times of change
What is distributed leadership?
Advocating leadership at all levels, interacting at all levels and empowering staff
What were Skryme’s two principles in relation to leading in virtual companies?
- High level of trust and mutual support needed
2. Remembering to communicate clearly and separately
What are the 5 fundamental principles of the IFAC code that leaders should follow?
Confidentiality Integrity Professional competence and due care Objectivity Professional behavior
What are the 5 personal qualities required of an accountant?
Courtesy Timeliness Respect Responsibility Reliability
What are the 4 professional qualities required of an accountant?
Scepticism
Accountability
Social responsibility
Independence
